PHOENIX (AP) - Arizona officials are rescinding punishment for a whistleblower who released videos showing corrections officers being attacked by inmates at Phoenix-area a prison with faulty cell locks.
The Department of Corrections made the announcement Thursday night, after the union representing Arizona corrections officers sent a letter to various state officials asking that the whistleblower’s weeklong suspension be reversed.
The sergeant released videos to ABC15 earlier this month, prompting the transfer of over 700 inmates to another lock-up. She was given a weeklong suspension without pay and her record was tarnished, meaning she couldn’t apply for a promotion anytime soon, according to union leader Carlos Garcia.
Garcia said he was pleased with the decision to reverse her punishment.
“When you’re wrong, you’re wrong,” Garcia said.
“The Department takes any allegations of retaliation seriously. Our officers and personnel should never be afraid to raise concerns, and when they do, we want those concerns to be addressed,” spokesman Andrew Wilder said in a statement.
The department has been dealing with lock issues since 2018, and an inmate died last year after other prisoners got out of their cells and beat him. Two corrections officers were severely beaten. It says inmates have tampered with locks for about two years and that various other fixes were ineffective.
Department officials recently installed padlocks on 1,000 high-security cells at the prison, which typically houses more than 5,000 inmates.
The union says the department has failed to act quickly, endangering its members. It says the whistleblower who released the videos shouldn’t have been punished and deserves an apology.
Gov. Doug Ducey launched an independent investigation into the issue.
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